String Quartets

Sonic dialogue across borders and disciplines. String Quartets brings together three visionary composers - Stephan Thelen, Gebhard Ullmann and Udo Agnesens - in a compelling exploration of contemporary string quartet compositions. Performed with impressive intensity and nuance by the Al Pari Quartet, this album encompasses a landscape of sonic textures, rhythmic complexity and deeply personal expression. The composers and works: Stephan Thelen contributes two powerful pieces - "Urgent Call" and "Continuum in 9" - that bridge minimalist structure and progressive rock energy. Building on his background as a mathematician and founder of the band Sonar, Thelen's music is characterized by polyrhythmic layering and mathematical precision without losing its almost visceral emotional power. "Urgent Call" is a propulsive evocation of Thelen's sonic ideals, while "Continuum in 9" blends shimmering textures with electric urgency, blurring the boundaries between concert hall and rock stage. Gebhard Ullmann's String Quartet No. 1 unfolds as a meditative, melodious journey through sections that sparkle with emotional clarity. As a leading jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, Ullmann turns to composition as a space for reflection. His quartet begins with ethereal sul-tasto textures and develops into complex interrelationships between melody, memory and transformation. Inspired by themes from his own creative archive, Ullmann's music resonates with a sense of transience and transcendence. Udo Agnesens, represented by his String Quartet No. 23, delivers the most introspective contribution. While Agnesens is a prolific composer with more than 30 quartets to his name, he often writes without focusing on performance - his focus is more on creation than dissemination. The 23rd quartet is characterized by a solemn tempo and emotional depth and demands enormous control from the performers. It enchants the listener and reveals its subtle beauty through patience and restraint. "If you don't have time to really listen to the music," he says, "perhaps you should do something else." The Al Pari Quartet. The Al Pari Quartet - Dominik Kossakowski (violin), Alicja Miruk-Mirska (violin), Wiktoria Trzebowska (viola) and Elżbieta Rychwalska-Dobrowolska (cello) - was founded in 2017 by students of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice and has grown into a formidable force in contemporary chamber music. Their work on this recording testifies not only to technical mastery, but also to profound interpretive insight. They present each composition with clarity, warmth and expressive sensitivity, bridging the complex rhythmic structures and emotional demands of each piece.